Massive growth ahead for Infopark

KOCHI: Infopark, the icon venture of Kerala in the IT sector, is all set to multiply the employment opportunities. The `2,500-crore second phase development of Infopark will be implemented in the next five years. “The Infopark will be able to generate 80,000 employment opportunities by 2018. It will become the premium IT enterprise in the country by 2018,” Infopark CEO Jijo Joseph has said. The procedure for acquiring 125 acres of the 160 acres land identified in Puthencruz and Kunnathunad villages has been completed. Once the development project is completed, Infopark will have 80-lakh sq ft space. The development projects are being planned in a way that the medium-segment companies also benefit from them. Of the 2,500 crore, the government will spend `450 crore while `2,050 crore is expected to be invested by IT companies and other entrepreneurs, Jijo said. “During the past five years, the software export from Infopark grew four fold. In 2007-2008, the export value was `247.05 crore. In the last fiscal year, the export value touched `900 crore. The office space has also increased from 5.30 lakh square ft to 34 lakh sq ft. The total area of Infopark will be extended to 50 lakh in the next three years,” he said.Infopark Cherthala, which was commissioned in January 2011, provides employment opportunities for 1,000 professionals. The project needs an investment of `75 crore, excluding land value. The Koratty Infopark has created employment opportunities for 400 professionals.